Development of Smartphone-Integrated Real-Time Substance Detection 'Bun-gwang-gi'

GIST Research Team Localizes High-Performance Spectrometer That Is Affordable and Mass-Produced

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Domestic researchers have developed a technology that enhances the resolution of spectrometers, which can be used for self-diagnosis of skin conditions and real-time substance detection, and enables mass production. A substance detector that can be attached to smartphones

The research team led by Professor Lee Heung-no of the Department of Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) announced on the 30th that they developed a high-resolution compact spectrometer operating over a wide wavelength range of visible and near-infrared light by compensating for the low-resolution problem of conventional filter array spectrometers through mathematical calculation technology.

A spectrometer is a device that measures the intensity of light according to wavelength and can analyze the characteristics of light transmitted through or reflected by a substance, making it useful in various research and industrial fields. However, its high cost and large size limit its use in everyday life.

Unlike bandpass-type optical filters that allow only light within a specific wavelength range to pass through, the research team designed and fabricated a single optical filter capable of detecting light in multiple wavelength regions. They created an array of 36 such filters and attached this array onto a CMOS image sensor, successfully measuring the intensity of light in the 500?850 nm wavelength band. Using mathematical optimization techniques, the 36 light intensity measurements obtained via the CMOS image sensor were reconstructed into 350 spectral data points within the 500?850 nm wavelength range. The spectral performance was verified through optical experiments using various light sources such as monochromatic light, LED light sources, and halogen light sources.

The spectrometer developed by the research team is small and lightweight, making it suitable as a portable spectrometer for skin self-diagnosis and real-time substance detection. Since mass production of the filter array is possible through wafer deposition processes, it is expected that high-performance compact spectrometers can be manufactured at low cost.

The conventional method for producing filter arrays for computational spectrometers faced difficulties in producing uniform filter arrays. By utilizing stencil lithography technology with shadow masks, the team was able to mass-produce 36 uniform arrays.

Professor Lee Heung-no stated, "Through this research, we succeeded in creating a computational spectrometer that can be mass-produced," adding, "We aim to attract investment for technology commercialization and develop a module that can be mounted on mobile phones like a camera for global export."

The results of this research were published online on the 8th in the international academic journal ‘Scientific Reports.’

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.